civilwarwikiaorg-20200214-history
Lower Seaboard Theater of the American Civil War
The Lower Seaboard Theater of the American Civil War encompassed major military and naval operations that occurred near the coastal areas of the Southeastern United States (in South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) as well as southern part of the Mississippi River (Port Hudson and south). Inland operations are included in the Western Theater or Trans-Mississippi Theater, depending on whether they were east or west of the Mississippi River. Coastal operations in Georgia, as the culmination of Sherman's March to the Sea, are included in the Western Theater. The campaign classification established by the United States National Park ServiceU.S. National Park Service, [http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/bycampgn.htm#Gulf Civil War Battle Studies by Campaign], which calls these the Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach operations, is more fine-grained than the one used in this article. Some minor NPS campaigns have been omitted and some have been combined into larger categories. Only a few of the 31 battles the NPS classifies for this theater are described. The Port Royal Expedition of 1861 has been added, although it has not been classified by the NPS. Boxed text in the right margin show the NPS campaigns associated with each section. Union Naval activities in this theater were dictated by the Anaconda Plan, with its emphasis on strangling the South with an ever tightening blockade and later in execucting attacks on, and the occupation of the port cities of New Orleans, Mobile and Galveston. The Confederate response was mainly limited to blockade running and reacting defensively to Union invasions of its territory, with mixed success. South Carolina Much of the war along the South Carolina coast concentrated on capturing Charleston, due both to its role as a port for blockade runners and to its symbolic role as the starting place of the war.Symonds, p. 5. One of the earliest battles of the war was fought at Port Royal Sound, south of Charleston. The Union navy selected this location as a coaling station for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron.Symonds, p. 15 In attempting to capture Charleston, the Union military tried two approaches, by land over James or Morris Islands or through the harbor. However, the Confederates were able to drive back each Union attack. During the night of February 23, 1864, the CSS Hunley made the first successful sinking of an enemy warship by a submarine, in what would be their only offensive from the city during the war.Symonds, p. 5. Georgia Fort Pulaski on the Georgia coast was an early target for the Union navy. Following the capture of Port Royal, an expedition was organized with engineer troops under the command of Captain Quincy A. Gillmore. After a month of positioning 36 mortars and rifled cannons on nearby Tybee Island, Gillmore opened a bombardment of the fort on April 10. The Confederates surrendered the following afternoon after their magazine was threatened by Union shells. The Union army occupied the fort for the rest of the war after making repairs.Kennedy, p. 63-67. Florida Following the secession of Florida in January 1861, Florida troops seized most Federal property in the state with the exceptions of Fort Zachary Taylor at Key West and Fort Pickens at Pensacola. The Union navy established a blocade of the coast early in the war, with the state's Atlantic coast covered by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and the Gulf coast by the East Gulf Blockading squadron. Several small skirmishes were fought in the state, but no major battles. The Union army attempted to capture Tallahassee but were defeated at the Battle of Natural Bridge on March 8, 1865. Florida was one of only two Confederate states not to have its capital captured in the war.Kennedy, p. 434. Louisiana One of the early Union objectives in the war was the capture of the Mississippi River, in order to cut the Confederacy in half. "The key to the river ws New Orleans, the South's largest port and greatest industrial center."Kennedy, p. 58. In April 1862, a Union naval task force commanded by Commander David D. Porter attacked Forts Jackson and St. Philip, which guarded the river approach to the city from the south. While part of the fleet bombarded the forts, other vessals borced a break in the obstructions in the river and enabled the rest of the fleet to steam upriver to the city. A Union army force commanded by Major General Benjamin Butler landed near the forts and forced their surrender.Kennedy, p. 58. The following year, the Union Army of the Gulf commanded by Major General Nathaniel P. Banks laid siege to Port Hudson for nearly eight weeks, the longest siege in US military history. The Confederates defending the city surrendered on July 9, after hearing of the surrender at Vicksburg. These two surrenders gave the Union control over the entire Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in half.Kennedy, p. 182-183. The remainder of the war in this area of Louisiana was spent in minor skirmishing and Confederate attempts to recapture cities. Notes References * Chaitin, Peter M. The Coastal War: Chesapeake Bay to Rio Grande. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1984. ISBN 0-8094-4732-0. * Kennedy, Frances H. (editor) The Civil War Battlefield Guide, 2nd edition. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. ISBN 0-395-74012-6. * Symonds, Craig L. A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War. Annapolis, MD.: Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1983. ISBN 0-933852-40-1. External links * [http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/american_civil_war/html/acw01.html West Point Atlas map of principal Civil War campaigns] * National Park Service Civil War at a Glance * Battle of Olustee Web site Category:Lower Seaboard Theater and Gulf Approach of the American Civil War Category:Campaigns and theaters of the American Civil War fr:Théâtre du bas littoral de la Guerre de Sécession nl:Operaties bij de zuidoostelijke kuststrook ja:南部沿岸戦線 (南北戦争)